[Opinion] Love for Wife

Collin Powell, the first African-American joint chief of staff who led U.S. victory over Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, was enjoying growing popularity among the public after his retirement. Releasing an autobiography called `My Journey` in 1995, he was mulling over whether to run for presidency the following year. Then, his wife Allmer asked him to be with his family, and he did so by saying in November 1995, “Staying with my family means more to me than running for presidency.” Loving husband Powell said again that he would resign from the office of state secretary even if George W. Bush wins next year`s election to spend more time with his wife. Although the Department of State denied the report, Powell`s love for his wife has been known yet again.

This is not the first time that a high-ranking government official in the U.S. decides to resign for love for his wife. Gen. Tommy Franks, who successfully led the latest U.S. attack on Iraq, also plans to retire this year after spending 36 years in the army so as to carry out the promise he made to his wife on their wedding day, that is he will leave the military some day. To deliver on his promise, he even refused to take the army Chief of Staff. It is good to see people who have long been serving their countries going back to their loving wives and families when the time comes.

There are many moving stories in this country, too. Choi Oh-gyun, author of the book titled `Leave When You Are In Love,` quit his job of leading a bank branch in 1998 after his wife got an incurable disease. Then he traveled around the world with his sick wife for five years as his wife wanted to be free as she could be. Then her illness disappeared as if it had never existed. Yeom Jin-sup, former CEO of Yahoo! Korea known as a first-generation venture business leader, published a collection of poems titled `I Dreamt a Long Dream for a While,` which is about his love for two sick children and wife.

There is an English saying “A man without a wife is like a house with a roof.” And Italians refer to a man without a wife as a tree without branches and leaves. Poet Kim Chun-su, who turned 81 years old this year, wrote a poem to remember his dead wife. `She must take a brief rest somewhere else./She might be sick again due to the backache/It might be something else./It rains and grows dark./I look out the window to find her./Then, I feel dismayed. Fame and reputation in the world must pale in comparison with a wife, who is a companion throughout a long life. Many busy men out there must learn a lesson from the decisions Powell and Frank made before it is too late.

Song Moon-hong, Editorial Writer, songmh@donga.com